UT Photos

A few more of my photographs around UT's campus. 

Busy busy busy!

     This week, I don't see myself even having a chance to breathe. First off, I've been working like mad on an environmental presentation that I'm presenting with my group tonight. I also have a GIGANTIC psychology test tomorrow, which was supposed to be last Thursday (I'm happy that it got moved, but not happy that I still have to take the test....grr). Have I been studying? Yes. Does it seem like I've accomplished anything? Sadly, no. That's life though.

     On the other hand, I was supposed to be able to start registering for class tomorrow morning. But for some unknown reason, that got changed to Thursday morning. Why is my life so AWESOME? I couldn't tell you...but you should be jealous. 

     Let's make things a little brighter. Guess what great thing happens Friday? My daddy flies in :) It's about time. My dad has always been my rock, and it's certainly rough when everything feels like a mudslide. So for some much needed (nerdy) fun and excitement, he requested that we go to MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry). I went with my brother and grandparents around 10 years ago and thought it was soooooooo cool. Now that I have a better understanding of sciency-type things, it'll probably be even more awesome. I'm excited!

Today's words: Make me happy, and recycle :)

11.10.09

Alright, now it's been a couple of months (roughly 2.5) since I've been in Florida, but still find myself going through small culture shocks. I'll go ahead and list them, just keep in mind that if it sounds dumb, it's really not.

1. Tamarind - I haven't talked to anyone from the states yet that actually knows what this is. But it's actually very popular back home and in the rest of the Caribbean. It's a  tangy brown, pulpy fruit encased in a thin brown shell/pod when ripe (about the size of your finger). It tends to be very stringy and have large seeds, but you can separate the pulp and make what's commonly known as tamarind balls (the pulp rolled into a ball with sugar). Another use for it (what I actually use it for) is in the making of hot sauce. So yummy! Another way to eat it, though not as popular, is to put salt on the flesh when it's still green. 

2. Breadfruit - Not as scary as it sounds, I promise! It's a fibrous-fleshed fruit that has a green skin (about the size of a volleyball). When ripe, some people like to bake or boil it, then butter just like you would a potato. I'm not really fond of it that way, so I found another way to cook it like a potato. Chips! I cut the flesh into triangular pieces (thick if you want it to be soft, thin if you want it crispy), and fry them in really hot vegetable oil for 2 minutes a side. Once out of the oil, they're dusted with Adobo--an essential seasoning in the Caribbean. It's just about the easiest and most delicious thing to make EVER!

3. Paper or plastic? That's not a question back home. I've never been into a store where you had a choice between what kind of bags you can use. It doesn't sound too drastic, but it's just one of those *whoa* moments. The closest thing to anything like that is this one store where there are no bags. Instead, you pile your groceries into boxes left-over from unpacking the items you're buying. I always thought that was a great idea because nothing was going to waste, and then you always have large boxes incase you need to pack things up at home for whatever reason.

4. How big are snowflakes? I have no clue. The last time I asked this question, I just got laughed at. But how else am I supposed to know?! I've never seen the snow. When I think of snow, all that comes to mind are those giant snowflake paper cut-outs that we did in elementary school. By the way, I still never got an answer.

 Today's words: Don't ask, don't say. Everything lies in silence.

November 4

This is going to be a short post, but it's talking about something I'm really passionate about.

     I've always been an art enthusiast, but I don't really like the 'typical' pretty artwork. I prefer things more abstract. Why am I saying this? Painting is the only thing that works as a stress reliever for me. Back home I had plenty time to paint, but never got around to it, I'm not sure why. That's the one thing I feel is missing in my room--my paints. There's this one set of paints that I've been wanting since 8th grade (Chroma A2 Acrylics), and guess what? I finally got them! Soooo...this makes me really happy :) 

Today's words: "Art is the only way to run away without leaving home." - Twyla Tharp

Magic Vs. 76ers Game

     Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to a basketball game, my first ever! The Magic were playing against the 76ers in Orlando, score 120-106. Here are some pictures :)

Today's words: In the end, everything will be alright. If it's not alright, then it's not the end.

October 22

   So guess what? We finally got new suitemates! Luckily, we were able to have our friends from across the hall move in :) 413 now consists of me, Caitlin, Emily, and Marchellaaaaaa.

   Oh yeah, last weekend was my second weekend in a row visiting the aquarium. That kinda makes me feel like I have no life, but it was awesome because we got to play with penguins for half an hour! Only one penguin (Pebbles) was brought out to us to play with on the floor and in a kiddie pool, but there were 6 others that we could go right up to and touch also. So are you ready for some cool penguin facts?

• gender can only be determined by a blood test
• the smallest penguins in the world are called (little) blue or fairy penguins
• the penguins at the FL aquarium (Black Footed South Africans) are the 2nd smallest variety
• they like to nibble toes and shiny things
• if you scratch their neck, they'll preen you (or fluff your "feathers")
• they typically keep the same mate for their entire lives
• they make a funny noise something similar to a donkey (this I was told, but we weren't fortunate enough to hear it)
• you'll hear them making sneeze-like sounds, which is actually the way they release salt from the food they eat

Today's words of advice: "Always do right--this will gratify some and astonish the rest." - Mark Twain

Midnight Madness

     Honestly, I'm really not the kind of person to stand up infront of a large group of people and feel completely comfortable. I've always been really shy and normally would never make a fool of myself in public. But Wednesday night was an exception :) I walked into the sports center with a few of my friends where there was a table to sign up for "musical chairs." Herb went ahead and signed up, but no one else wanted to join him. So I figured, why not? I didn't have anything to lose, so I signed up also. 

     When it started, they had us go to the middle of the court and sit in the chairs that were arranged in a circle. But next? They gave us basketballs... Um, what? One of the girls was like "remember, this IS a basketball event." Oh great, now I get it. We just got punk'd. 

     So they told us that we had to dribble our basketball to the hoop, shoot a basket, and run back to hopefully get a seat. If you didn't make a basket the first time, you had to keep shooting until your ball made it through, but it definitely lowered your chances of getting a seat. 

     Okay so all was good, but like the 3rd time around, my basketball got stuck in the hoop. How lucky of me? Keep in mind, I'm 4'11'' and ridiculously far away from the hoop. But what could I do about it? Not much, so I just waved my hands above my head to get the point across that I couldn't reach the ball. Luckily, someone saved me from looking even more ridiculous, and smacked the ball out of the hoop. 

     Needless to say, I did not find a seat. But it was all in good fun, and I enjoyed stepping out of my boundaries :) 

Today's words of advice: Just be yourself.